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Energy-Efficient Houses

Explore these examples of high-performance homes to get inspiration for your own energy-saving home projects.

  • Design 1
    Best New Home 2019: 21st-Century Modern Farmhouse Gets the Big Things Right

    This compact, innovative home manages design and construction best practices on a budget.

  • Design 2
    Build Like This

    A simple approach to building a super efficient house starts with six key elements.

  • Design 3
    Best Energy Smart Home 2019: DIY Passive House

    This is the story of a house, a rain tank, an incredible view, and two homeowners who didn’t quite realize what they were getting themselves into.

  • Design 4
    Deep in the Heat of Texas

    Insulation, air-sealing, and efficient mechanicals keep this house comfortable in the hot, humid weather

  • Design 5
    Best New Home: Passive House Perfection

    This compact farmhouse achieves home building’s highest performance standard without a shred of aesthetic compromise

  • Design 6
    Exploiting the Elements of Passive Design

    This home uses five systems to reduce its environmental impact, lower its operating cost, and improve its connection to the land.

  • Design 7
    Best Energy Smart Home: A Higher Standard

    A practical design delivers a remarkably air-tight, super insulated home on a modest budget

  • Design 8
    Best New Home 2018: Suburban Shift

    Timeless styling with a modern twist makes this new home stand out in a post-war New England neighborhood.

  • 9
    Best Energy-Smart Home 2017: Net-Positive in New England

    This new home blends the nostalgia of a traditional Massachusetts farmhouse with the needs of a 21st-century family.

  • Design 10
    Best Energy-Smart Home 2018: Neighborhood Net Zero

    This builder-friendly spec house fills out a narrow lot in a contemporary community.

  • 11
    Best Traditional Home 2017: Federal Farmhouse

    A Vermont architect uses the state’s energy-efficiency guidelines to craft a new zero-energy home steeped in traditional character.

  • 12
    Best Energy-Smart Home 2015: Stepping Off the Grid in Hill Country

    This Texas house borrows from the ground and the sky to achieve net-zero energy use and complete water independence.

  • Design 13
    Best Energy-Smart Home 2014: Cold-Climate Collaboration

    A Maine architect designs Michigan’s first certified Passive House to be rooted in tradition, and outlines lessons for builders of custom homes

  • Design 14
    Best New Home: Passive House Perfection

    This compact farmhouse achieves home building’s highest performance standard without a shred of aesthetic compromise

  • Design 15
    Best Small Home 2019: Small and Skinny Spec Home

    This 1650-sq.-ft. urban home challenges market norms with a thoughtful modern design.

  • Design 16
    Best Small Home 2018: Small House Has It All

    A little house on an urban infill lot leaves room for gardens and play, and lives larger than its diminutive footprint.

  • Design 17
    High-Priority Energy Efficiency

    This home is headed to net-zero energy, with very little impact on its site.

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